


Magic and Science

by shewasjustagirl



Category: Rhett & Link
Genre: Buddy System AU, Fluff, Handcuffed Together, Innuendo, M/M, Magic, Tropetastic Tuesday, hand holding
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-12
Updated: 2017-03-12
Packaged: 2018-10-03 05:17:05
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,737
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10236698
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/shewasjustagirl/pseuds/shewasjustagirl
Summary: After Buddy System, Maxwell returns from Guam and asks Rhett and Link to be volunteers for his new act. He's still really bad at magic.Written in response to the first Tropetastic Tuesday prompt: "Handcuffed Together without the key" in 2000 words or less.





	

"Rhett, do we really have to go? He's a terrible magician," Link whined, leaning against the wall near the door as Rhett walked into the office. 

"He's not a magician, he does magic," Rhett replied, unable to resist the urge to correct him. Link rolled his eyes, less than impressed with the distinction. 

"But yeah, man, we have to go," Rhett continued. "He saved our lives, remember?"

When Maxwell returned from Guam a few days ago, he had invited Rhett and Link to his first show back in Los Angeles, and they felt they had to accept. 

"Technically his assistant saved our lives while Maxwell took a power nap." 

"She's his magical creation, Buddyroll!" Rhett chuckled. "And he's a good friend, man. I know it's kind of a pain, but it'll mean a lot to him. Plus, he'll tell us all about his trip."

"Okay, okay." Link closed the distance between himself and Rhett and grinned up at his friend mischievously, pinching at Rhett's waist. "Maybe he'll lock us in a box together again, too."

"Yeah, I'm never going to live that down, am I?"

"The magic was real, Rhett," Link winked. 

"That's science, man! Friction isn't magic," Rhett laughed, mocking a punch at his friend's shoulder.

"Mmhmm," Link smirked, returning to sit at his desk. "Whatever you say."

 

"Hey guys! Come on in!"

Maxwell was glowing as he waved them into the room behind the stage. Rhett's left eyebrow tilted up at Link and the shorter man replied with lopsided smile. Their friend's first trip to Guam must have gone well.

Rhett spoke first. "Hey man, you look great! How was Guam?"

"It was awesome, guys. It was totally worth getting my license from the Magic Association of the Americas. They really do love magic out there."

"Did you learn any new tricks you're going to show us tonight?" Link chimed in. 

Maxwell's head jerked up toward Link. "I don't do tricks, Link...the magic is real," he said with reverence. "But I do have some new material. Be sure you two volunteer again, okay?"

"Sure, we can do that. Right, Rhett?" Link looked up at the taller man with a smirk.

Rhett's face warmed, "Uh, yeah. Of course we can... Hey, where's your assistant, anyway?" 

Maxwell chuckled, "I made her disappear before I left Guam, man! Do you have any idea how much it costs to take that flight?"

"Four...no, three hundred...eight...?" Link stumbled. 

"Okay, man, we'll see you out there," Rhett cut in, tugging at Link's arm before he could get too lost in the numbers.

 

Maxwell hadn't gotten any better while he was away. Even in the dim light of the small room, Rhett and Link could tell the other onlookers were confused by the performance. The duo sat with their shoulders pressed together, whispering quietly about the show.

"Yeah, this is as bad as I remember," Rhett breathed, hanging his head as Maxwell made a coin actually disappear and reappear, explaining to the crowd that even though it looked like a trick, the coin was really gone for a moment.

"And now, I'd like to ask for two volunteers from the audience."

Warily, Rhett raised his hand and nudged at Link to raise his. "Ah, you two! Right there!" Maxwell pointed at his friends and led them onto the stage.

"Okay, look at these two strangers! Come on up. Thank you for volunteering!"

He turned on his heels, facing away from the audience. "Okay, here's the deal. I have a pair of handcuffs attached to this setup. I'm going to make the stuff attaching it to the wall disappear, and you'll be free. Got it?" They both nodded, turning to look at the contraption.

Maxwell's setup was a little intimidating. A curtain separated two sides of a metal stand that was attached to a piece of wooden wall. Maxwell took Rhett's right hand, guiding him up to the right side of the contraption and locking his hand into one side of the handcuffs. Link then took his place on the other side of the curtain, Maxwell locking in his left hand and backing away, turning to face the audience.

"Okay, please move around, volunteers -- do your best to pull your arms away from the wall." They tried and failed, Link flailing around not for the benefit of the audience, but because the handcuffs were making him nervous. It didn't help that he couldn't see Rhett, either. 

Link's voice was trembling as he announced, "Yeah, we're stuck, start the magic! Please!"

"Yep, we're ready," Rhett added, then, the nerves in Link's voice registering in his ears, he whispered, "It's okay, man, I'm right here."

Maxwell pulled out a piece of black satin fabric and waved it in front of Rhett and Link, explaining to the crowd that the metal did not have any trick weak spots - it was really going to disappear, freeing the two men from the wall.

"Now, as I pull down the curtain separating them, these two men will be freed!"

Maxwell pulled down the curtain and the metal pieces pinning the handcuffs against the stand disappeared. The audience cheered louder than they had all night -- until they realized Rhett and Link were still handcuffed to one another. 

 

"I should probably rethink that part of the show..." Maxwell began, apologizing to Rhett and Link as they stood in the room behind the stage once more, still handcuffed together. 

"Well, you did make the metal pieces disappear," Rhett offered. "We got away from the stand."

"Yeah, but we're still stuck, Rhett!" Link was writhing against the taller man's side, occasionally breaking out into giggle fits. "And he doesn't have the key."

"But you can get it open, right, Maxwell?" Rhett added calmly, raising his eyebrows at the magician and smiling. He couldn't help chuckling at Link's reaction to being trapped for a few minutes in the handcuffs. 

"I don't really have a lot of experience in magic for practical application..."

 

Getting in the car after the show was a struggle. They opted not to stick around for drinks at the bar -- even as close as they were, standing around in handcuffs in a public place was just a little too much. 

"Okay, man, there's no way I can climb across the seat, so you're going to have to do it," Rhett urged Link. "I'm on the right side to drive, so you climb in and I'll follow."

Link giggled again, breathing an "oh goodness." 

"I can help you up, buddy. We can do this," Rhett said, supporting Link's left arm with his attached right arm and pushing up on his thin waist as he worked his way over the console.

"Okay, you're next, bo!" Link said, gripping Rhett's right wrist and offering his free hand to help finish pulling the man's long legs into the car.

They headed to the Mythical Entertainment offices -- they'd used handcuffs before on GMM, and Rhett was pretty sure they had a key that would work somewhere in the office.

As they drove, Rhett could see the brunette beside him squirming in the passenger's seat.

"You alright, Link?" Rhett snuck a glance at the smaller man, taking in the sight of thin legs shifting around in their skinny jeans, the fingers on his free right hand tapping a rhythm on the car door. 

"Yeah, sure, I'm fine," Link turned toward Rhett, who in turn looked back toward the road, just missing the nervous excitement in the wide blue eyes. "We have a key, right?"

"Yep, we'll find it, brother," Rhett replied, attempting to pat Link's shoulder and dragging his friend's arm along with him. "Oops, almost forgot."

 

"I know it's around here somewhere!"

They had been searching the office for nearly an hour, their ability to search thoroughly significantly impaired by their connected arms.

"Should we retrace our steps?"

"Link, there's no way we're going to remember exactly what we did the last time we had this key."

"Oh, right..." 

"Maxwell really set us up, huh? He even put both of our dominant hands in the cuffs," Rhett grinned, peeking over at his friend for a reaction.

Link laughed, standing and looking up at Rhett. "How many times do I have to tell you I'm not left-handed?"

Rhett stood with him, stretching his back for the first time in an hour. "You're in denial, Neal. You should just accept it." 

"Let's take a break," he added. "I can't stay bent over too long."

They attempted to settle on the couch, their arms getting tangled as they attempted to take up their usual pattern, with Rhett on Link's right. 

"Oh gosh, that doesn't work, okay, switch places with me."

Link crashed into Rhett, giggling again and squeezing past him, and made a show of contorting his arm as their limbs got sorted out again.

"I think you're enjoying this a little too much, Link."

"Well, I know you're not enjoying it as much as if he put us in a box," Link laughed, nudging his friend with the elbow between them and dragging their connected hands across Rhett's crotch, eliciting a low growl from the bigger man. "But yeah, I'm liking this just fine."

Rhett took Link's cuffed hand in his own, laughing, "I'm going to hold on to this for the rest of our search. It's going to get us in trouble."

 

Finally, after two more short breaks and searches, Link held up the key, victorious, but with mixed feelings about removing the handcuffs and freeing Rhett. This had been too much fun. He held the key behind him, keeping it out of reach of his friend and attempted to tickle him with his cuffed hand.

"That's how you want to do this, Neal?" Rhett laughed, grabbing Link's cuffed hand into his own again and tickling him with his free hand. "I'll win a tickle fight, man!"

Soon they were laid out on the floor, gasping for air from laughing, Rhett still holding Link's left hand.

"Are you sure you're ready to take these off? They're kind of fun..." Link squeezed Rhett's cuffed hand, emboldened by the fact that there was no way he could run, and lowered his eyes to Rhett's noticeably tighter jeans.

He smirked, raising his eyebrows at Rhett and looking over through the top half of square glasses. "Friction?"

Rhett grinned, his tongue darting out to wet his lips. "Yep."

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading this goofy little story! My challenge to myself, on top of writing to the prompt, was to make this an unambiguously happy story. Hopefully it worked!
> 
> Come find me on [Tumblr](http://clemwasjustagirl.tumblr.com/) if you're into that kind of thing.


End file.
